Mackay’s has tonight been announced as the newest North Queensland Toyota Cowboys NRLW co-captain, joining Kirra Dibb.
At 23 years and 217 days come season kick off on Saturday, Manzelmann becomes the second youngest captain in club history, sitting between current NRL co-captain Tom Dearden (22 years and 362 days) and Cowboys Life Member Johnathan Thurston (23 years and 325 days).
Manzelmann was the Cowboys’ inaugural NRLW signing ahead of the club’s maiden season in the competition in 2023.
She has appeared in all 18 games the Cowboys have contested in the NRLW and was named Player of the Year in the inaugural 2023 season.
Dibb enters her third season as Cowboys co-captain and remains one of the NRL’s best game managers.
Dibb’s former co-captain Tallisha Harden will take a step back from the captaincy this season as part of a succession plan devised by NRLW Head Coach Ricky Henry.
“Tallisha is coming to the back end of her career and has done a wonderful job for our club. We wanted to make this change while Tallisha was still at the club to help guide Emma as she begins her leadership journey,” Henry said.
“Emma has come a long way as a leader over the last six months. She will be the first to admit she had some work to do before she reached this point in her career, but she has been open-minded and has found a style that suits our team.
“Emma plays tough, she plays in the middle of the field and we were looking for someone who can give us an edge by talking about the tough parts of the game, who we are and the brand of footy we want to play.
“Kirra has been at our club since the start and she and Tallisha have done a great job as co-captains over the first two seasons.
“Kirra is tactical and strategic whereas Emma leads by the way she play the game. We believe they will complement each other well as captains.”
